What’s Next for Digital Trade?
 For small firms in the app economy, business has always been global. Software developers, brand strategists, app makers, and other tech-focused small businesses sell products and services all over the world. Due to their inherently global nature, small companies competing in digital markets like ACT | The App Association members need strong protection through digital trade policies. Each year, digitally delivered services account for more than 10 percent of all global trade, amounting to $4.25 trillion annually. Digitally delivered [...]
Always Be Filing: ACT | The App Association Filing Activity February 2025
 Throughout the year, our policy team submits filings with government bodies worldwide to advocate for a regulatory environment that inspires and rewards innovation. From issues around regulating artificial intelligence to digital trade, our team is ACTive on a wide range of topics that could have a positive or negative impact on our small business members driving the app economy. Below is a roundup of our filings from around the globe this past month.  Title:  Feedback of ACT | [...]
An App Association Recap as Economics Has its Day in Court in FTC’s Antitrust Case Against Amazon
 The court considering the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) antitrust lawsuit against Amazon scheduled an economics hearing for March 7, providing an opportunity for us to better understand the FTC’s economic thinking. A quick recap of our commentary on the case may help provide some context ahead of the hearing: The FTC’s market definition is arbitrary. From last year’s piece, Temu Complicates the FTC’s Antitrust Case Against Amazon: In order to succeed with an antitrust claim of monopolization, plaintiffs must [...]
American Government Hears DMA Complaints, Broadcasts Them to the World
 For the past couple years, we’ve been sending up flares about the problems with the European Union’s (EU’s) onslaught of digital market regulation. We focused in particular on the Digital Markets Act (DMA), because of how thoroughly it restricts the curated online marketplace (COM) services small app companies leverage to reach global markets. Near the end of the last Administration, our advocacy yielded negative results. Not only did the United States Trade Representative (USTR) remove DMA from the list [...]